Grain-car door



Aug. 26 1924.

M. KLAUS GRAIN CAR DOOR Filed NOV. 26. 1.921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Swarm kw;

1,506,310 M. KLAUS GRAIN CAR DOOR Filed Nov. 26 1921 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented Au 26, 1924.

UNITED stares MARTIN KLAUS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

Application filed November 26, 1921.

To oil whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MARTIN KLAUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to car doors, an more especially to a car door devised fo enclosed freight cars used for shippin, grain.

One of the objects of my invention is the production of a simple and inexpensive car door which may be used in connection with the usual outer sliding car door and which can be positioned within a car without removing it from its points of attachment so that freight other than grain may be shipped within the car without the door offering any obstruction or interfering with the same in any manner whatsoever.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a door of this kind which is arranged to swing inwardly into the car when opening the same and the members of which may be fastened to the side wall of the car when opened so as to occupy substantially no space within the car that could be utilized for shipping freight.

A still further object of my invention is to simplify and improve on grain car doors now in use, and to provide the doors or door members with movable sections so arranged that when they are moved into open or partly open position, they will allow the grain to start flowing from the car in a substan tially controlled stream.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a part of an enclosed freight car having the door opening thereof equipped with my improved grain car door, the door comprising two members and being shown as closing the car door opening, with the exception of a portion at the top, which is left open to permit the car to be filled or partly filled with grain.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal line 22, Fig. 1.

section taken on Serial No. 518,059.

F 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 3-3, Fig. 1. v

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 4-4, 1.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 55, Fig. 1, looking toward the left.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on line 6-6, Fig. 1, looking toward the left.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section taken through a portion of the wall of the car, showing one of the two door members swung inwardly against said wall and fastened thereto, the parts being in the position illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Reference being had to the drawings in detail, 8 designates the car which has the usual bottom or floor 9 fastened to joists, such as shown at 10 framed or otherwise fastened to sills, such as shown at 11. 12 designates one of the side walls of the car, it having the usual door opening 13, and 1e designates the roof.

To close the door opening from the outside, the usual sliding door 15 is provided. At the sides of the door opening, the usual door posts 16 are located, to the inner sides of which are fastened plates 17 having spaced hinge portions 18 projecting into the door opening. These plates stiffen the posts and protect the same along a considerable distance from becoming battered and eventually worn am and consequently impaired in strength.

19 designates the grain car door, which comprises two door members 20, 21, each member having hinge portions 22 adapted to fit between the hinge portions 18 of the plates 17, said hinge portions 18 and 22 being in the form of loops, the openings of which are in registration and through these registered openings the usual hinge rod or pin 23 is passed.

Each door member 20 and 21 is preferably formed of metallic plate material of proper gauge so as to withstand the pressure of the load within the car and retain its formation under all conditions of use. One of said door members has its free vertical marginal portion offset, as at 24C, to form a marginal depression which receives the free vertical marginal portion of the other door member, thus providing an-overlap for the. door members that will prevent the escape of grain and at the same time maintain the outer surfaces of the two door members in alinement. It is to be noted that the outer or free longitudinal edges of the door members 20, 21 are shorter than the inner or hinged edges thereof, and that therefore the lower edges of these door members are inclined or obliquely-disposed from their outer edges toward their inner edges.

Secured to each door member are two channel-shaped horiz'ontally-disposed guides 25, 26, the flanges 27 of which are riveted or otherwise fastened to the plate material forming the door members. The guides 25 are alined, as are the guides 26, and they extend from the free vertical edges of the door members toward the hinges of said members, or in other words, from their outer edges inwardly, being closed by beveling the walls thereof, as at '28. These guides are therefore arranged in pairs and one of the guides of each pair is provided with a longitudinal slot or opening 29. Each slotted guide has a slide bolt therein provided with an outward extension 31, which projects through the slot or opening 29 of the guide, said extension serving as a means to enable the slide bolt to be manipulated so that a portion of the bolt may be thrust into the co-operating guide, or so that it may be withdrawn from said co-operating guide so as to permit thedoor members to be swung on their hinges.

When the slide bolt 30 of the slotted guide of each pair is thrust into the mating guide, the door members are maintained in alinement in a rigid manner so that they can neither move outwardly nor inwardly. In order to stiffen the door members, a vertical reinforcing angle bar 32 is secured to each door member between the guides there- The slotted guide of each pair is provided with a pair of perforated lugs 33 near the. inner end of the slot therein, and when the slide bolt of said guide is pulled inwardly the extension 31 thereof will be in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, said slide bolt being retained in said position by means of a pin 34: thrust through the perforations of the lugs 33, said pin being fastened to a chain 35 secured to the door memher to which the slotted guide is applied and by reason of said pin being in the path of the extension 31 when thrust through the perforations in said lugs, as clearly indicated by the location of the perforation in the lower lug in Fig. 3, movement of the slide bolt is prevented.

Each door member has a movable portion atits lower end, each movable portion being in the form of a triangular section 36 having a horizontal edge 37, an outer vertical edge 38, and an oblique upper edge 39, the lower end of the'main section of each door member being obliquely-disposed, as stated, to conthe inner ends of said guides form to the oblique upper edge of the cooperating lower or auxiliary section 36, as it may be termed. The triangular auxiliary sections have their vertical edges overlapped, as explained with reference to the main sections, and the upper edge of each lower or auxiliary section 36 is hinged to the corresponding lower edge-of the main.

section of the door member to which it is applied, as at t0, the hinges being aflixed to the outer side of the door so that the auxiliary section can swing outwardly and upwardly. The vertical edge of one auxiliary section is somewhat longer than that of the other, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, so that when opening said auxiliary sections the section having the longer vertical edge is first swung outwardly after which the other auxiliary section may be swung outwardly.

The triangular section of each door member is so hinged and arranged that it can be opened without opening the door member to which it is hinged, thus enabling grain within acar to be delivered under control without the possibility of large quantities escaping and overflowing receptacles into which it is intended to deliver the grain.

Owing to the fact that freight cars, of the type to which my invention is applied, are oftentimes shunted over tracks alongside platforms of freight houses, warehouses, or storage places, it is often found that the loading and unloading platforms of such structures are in a plane above that of the sill of the car, and when swinging the car doors outwardly, the triangular auxiliary sections 36 may be swung upwardly upon the main sections or door members 20, 21, and in this manner said door members will clear the platform and enable material to be easily removed from the car. It often occurs that grain or other like bulk freight is transferred from one car into another and that the sill of the car to receive the freight is at a higher elevation than the sill of the car from which the freight is to be discharged, and consequently by swinging the triangular auxiliary sections upwardly on the main sections, or door members 20 and 21 of the discharging car, these doors can be swung outwardly over the sill of the receiving car. Furthermore, assuming the contents of the car to be grain, after a quantity of grain is discharged through the opening formed by raising the triangular auxiliary sections, the two doors can be swung inwardly since in forcing the doors inwardly the triangular sections will swing upwardly over the remaining grain within the car; at least such grain as may remain on that portion of the floor of the car over which the doors must swing when fully opening them against the inner, side of the wall of the car It is to be noted that the inner hinged edge of each upper or main section extends from the upper face of the sill 11 to the upper end of the door. Consequently, the triangular auxiliary sections terminate in, points in line with the hinges of the door members. When swinging the triangular auxiliary sections outwardly. they assume positions approximating that indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and thus form an escape opening having its greatest width centrally of the door opening and being re stricted laterally in opposite directions so that grain escaping from the car when the auxiliary sections of the door are opened, can be conveniently controlled by regulating the degree of opening of said auxiliary sections. By thus centralizing the escape of the grain at the center of the car door, comparatively no opportunity is provided for waste of the grain.

In order to retain the auxiliary sections in closed position, each section is provided with a vertical guide 41 having a slot 42 therein and in each guide is a slide or lock bolt 4-3, which is provided with a projecting portion 44 at its upper end extending outwardly through the slot 42 of the guide so that it may be conveniently raised and lowered by grasping the projection. The lower end of each slide or lock bolt 4-3 is passed through a plate 45 secured to the" upper side of the sill 11 or, if desired, directly into the sill in the event of the plate being omit ted; it, of course, being assumed that when the plate is used it practically forms a part of said sill.

lVhen using my improved grain car door for confining grain within the car, the outer door 15 may be employed in the usual man ner, in which case the grain car door will be concealed during the transporting of the grain from one point to another, the usual seal being applied to the outer door so that no provision need be made for sealing the grain car door. However, if desired, the grain cardoor may be sealed and the outer door 15 dispensed with; or, if attached to the car, it'may be left open. In that event, however, it may be desirable to have the grain car door extend upwardly to the header of the door opening and have other provisions made for delivering the grain into the car, as the space between the header of the car door opening and the upper end of the grain car door, as shown in the drawing, is now provided for delivering grain into the car.

It is, of course, apparent that when delivering grain into the car through the opening above the grain car door, the door members will be locked together by means of the slide bolts 30 and the lower triangular sections closed and locked to the sill 11. Such condition is maintained until the grain is to be removed from the car, at which time the lower triangular sections of the doo members are swung into partly opened position and the grain allowed to e. cape through the opening formed by so positioning said tri angular sect-ions. Said triangular sections may be completely elevated and retained in elevated position in any suitable manner after sufficient grain is removed from the car to permit the remainder to be shoveled out through the open space under-- neath the main sections. -When sutlicieut grain is removed from the car within the region of. the door opening to permit the complete door members to be swung into the pasition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the grain from the ends of the car is shoveled out through the completely opened door opening.

lVhen the door members are swung into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. that is, against the inner side of. the wall of the car, the free vertical edges thereof swing inside of a retainer or keeper 4-6 fastened to one of the posts 47 forming part of the side wall, a post of this kind being positioned in the car at each side of the car door opening a distance conforming to the width of the adjacent door member.

The retainer or keeper nay be of any desired formation and it is provided with an opening 48 in alinement with the slide bolt of the adjacent door member so that when said door member is swung inwardly against the side wall of the car, the slide bolt may be thrust into the opening 48 of the retainer or keeper, as shown in Fig. 7, and thus retain the door member in position against the side wall.

It is to be noted that the opening in the retainer or keeper at one side of the door opening must necessarily be lower than the opening in the retainer or keeper at the other side of the door opening, or the retainer or keepers may be positioned at different elevatio-ns, for the reason that one door member has its slotted guide near its lower end and the other near its upper end, each slotted guide having a slide bolt slidable therein. When the door members are swung inwardly against the inner side of the side Wall, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the car may be used for transporting any other kind of freight, as the doors occupy practically no space within the car and do not interfere in any manner with the placing of freight therein.

Having thus described my what I claim is:-

1. A car provided wit-h a door opening, a door comprising two members hinged to opposite sides of the door opening and meeting at the center thereof, a slide'bolt on each door member adapted to engage the other door member, and a triangular invention,

auxiliary section movably applied to the lower edge of each door member and forming part thereof, each of said auxiliarv sections being movable independently or said door members and having one of its three edges alined with the outer or free edge of the door member to which. it is tpplied.

2. A car provided with a door opening, a door comprising two members hinged to opposite sides of the door opening and meeting at the center of said opening, a slide bolt on each door member adapted to engage the other door member, and a triangularly-shaped auxiliary section applied to the lower edge of each door member, said auxiliary sections meeting at the center of said door opening and being movable independently of said door members and tapering toward the hinges of said door members.

3. A car having a door opening with door posts at opposite sides of said door opening, a plate secured to the inner side of each door post and extending into said door opening, a door member hinged to each plate and arranged so that one overlaps the other when closed, each of said door members having an obliquely-disposed lower edge, a pair of guides secured to the outer side of each door member, one guide of each pair being slotted, a slide bolt in each of said slotted guides having an extension projecting outwardly through the slot in said guide and being adapted to enter a guide on th other door member, and a triangular section hinged to the. obliquely disposed lower edge of said door member and forming part thereof, :said triangular sections being movable on their hinges independently of the door members and each having one of its three edges alined with the outer or free edge of the door member to which it is hinged.

4. A car having a door opening, door posts at opposite sides of said opening, a door sill at the bottom of said opening, two door members, each comprising a main section hingedly secured to one of said door posts and having an obliquely-disposed lower edge, and a triangular auxiliary section hinged to the oblique lower edge of each main section and movable with or independent of said main section, said triextending angular auxiliary sections terminating at a point in line with the hinged edges of said main sections, and means for locking said triangular auxiliary sections to said sill.

5. A car having a door opening, a door comprising two door members, each door member comprising a main section hinged to one side of said opening and having its lower edge obliquely-disposed and a triangular auxiliary section hinged to the obliquely-disposed lower edge of said main section and movable with or independent of said main section, said triangular auxiliary sections tapering from their outer edges inwardly to a point in line with the hinges of said door members, guides on said triangular sections, and slide bolts in said guides adapted to lock into the sill of said car.

6. A car door provided with a door opening, a door comprising two members hinged to opposite sides of said door opening and meeting at the center thereof, and a triangularly-shaped auxiliary section applied to the lower edge of each door member and entirely across the lower edge of the latter, said auxiliary sections tapering toward the hinged edges of said door members.

7. A car provided with a door opening, a door comprising two members hinged to opposite sides of the door opening and meeting at the center thereof, and a triangularly-shaped auxiliary section pivotally connected along the entire lower edge of each door member and forming part thereof, the lower edge of each door member being obliquely disposed, and corresponding edges of said auxiliary sections being alined with the outer or free edges of said door members.

8. A car provided with a door opening, a door comprising two members hinged to opposite sides of the door opening and meeting at the center thereof, means on said two members for forming a small discharge opening centrally of said'door opening at the bottom thereof and for gradually enlarging said discharge opening laterally in opposite directions and in height without moving said door members.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MARTIN KLAUS. 

